Automatic transmission



Jan. 19,1937. 0. H. BANKER AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Fil ed June 14, 1935@2044) +7. [5% BY gwqfwz,

ATTORNEY Patented .Fan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE AUTOMATICTRANSMISSION Oscar H. Banker, Chicago, Ill., assignor to New ProductsCorporation, tion of Illinois Chicago, 11]., a corpora- Applieation June14, 1935, Serial No. 26,608

3 Claims.

jaw clutch and its relation to the engine drive shaft. According to thepresent invention one of the jaws of the second speed clutch is formedon a member connected for direct drive of the engine drive shaft wherebythe automatic engine clutch is eliminated when second speed isestablished. Furthermore, one of the members of this jaw clutch ismanually movable to connect the driven shaft to the engine to facilitatestarting the motor when the battery is low.or disconnect the same whenthe vehicle is traveling at a high rate of speed and the jaws areentirely clear of each other when in neutral position so that when theengine is being raced in neutral position, the

gears will not engage.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.I

In the drawing: I

Fig. l is a half section view through a transmission embodying theinvention, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the gearing and its connection with thedriven shaft;

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation view of the clutch jaws.

In the drawing, the numeral 2 designates a part of the engine driveshaft connected by bolts 3 to the engine flywheel 4 which hasa drum-likemember 5 secured thereto by bolts 9, said member having jaw clutch teethI for the second speed clutch.

The transmission gearing is in general similar to that of my prior U. S.Patent No. 1,996,790, dated April 9, 1935, but follows more in detailthe structure shown and described in my copending application Serial No.24,035. The drawing shows a pair of transmission drive shafts 30 and 34similar to the shafts 30 and 34 of said Patent No. 1,996,790 andsimilarly connected through planetary gearing here designated generallyby through the overrunning roller clutch including the drum 6!, rollers63 and actuator 65 similar to similarly numbered parts in said patent.The centrifugally" operable clutch elements for engaging the drum Ii maybe like those of said patent or any other suitable construction.

The planetary gearing is held against retrograde movement by anautomatic brake comprising an actuator H'I, brake drum H8 and rollersII9 similar to corresponding parts in said patcut, the drum adapted tobe locked or released I at the will of the operator through a shiftabletoothed member I36 similar to a like numbered member shown in Fig. 4 ofsaid patent slidably mounted on the splines or teeth I39 on a flxedmember 39 and adapted to mesh in the position of forward drive with theteeth I35 on the-drum I I8 and in the reverse position with a clutchgear I39 which is also slidably splined to the second speed transmissionshaft 34.

In the aforementioned patent the second speed automatic clutch issimilar to that of the first speed clutch. In the present applicationthe second speed clutch is an overrunning jaw type clutch similar tothat shown in Fig. 5 of the aforementioned pending application except inthe present case the clutch acts to connect the second speed shaft 34direct with the engine flywheel 4 through the member 5. This clutchincludes a jaw clutch element 8 whose hub is slidably splined on thetransmission shaft 34 and operated through speed responsive mechanismincluding weighted levers 66, one of which is shown pivotally mounted ona pin 61 carried by a weight movement-limiting and supporting drum 69which is riveted to the hub of the clutch gear I39 also slidably splinedto the shaft 34. The ends 19 of the levers 68 engage a flanged collar I2and a coil spring I3 forms a yieldable driving connection between thiscollar and the clutch member 8 itself, said member being normally urgedto a withdrawn position by means of springs 65' interposed between saidcollar and bolts 66' secured to the drum 69, said collar then engaging astop I2 on the hub of said clutch member 8. This arrangement permits theclutch member 8 to be moved. by the weights 66 and it also permits thewhole clutch assembly including the parts 8, 69, and I39 to be movedmanually as a unit.

For manual operation of the clutch member 8 a shifter member 94 ispivotally supported on the housing at the points l40and its forked ends94 are adapted to engage in an annular groove 95 in the member I36 andto shift the same longitudinally while said member 94 is swung about itspivotal mounting. The upper end of the shifter member 94 is adapted inits neutral and its forward drive positions to engage a lug I9 on ashifter fork I4 which is slidably mounted on a rod l5 and has its forkportion working in an annular groove I6 formed between the member I39and drum 69, said fork being normally held in the clutch releaseposition by a spring I! mounted on said rod I5 between said fork and anut I8. The parts in Fig. 1 are shown in their neutral position. Whenthe operator through suitable control connections with the shiftermember 94 swings the upper end thereof toward the left as viewed in Fig.l, the member I36 is shifted toward the right to bring it into clutchedengagement with the teeth I35 on the drum II8 for forward drive and atthe same time the upper end of said member I36 through its engagementwith the lug l9 acts to move the shifter fork I4 toward the left andthus through its connection with the parts I39 and 69 move these partswith the clutch member 8 toward the left into a position where, by afurther movement of these parts, the jaws I and 8 may be engaged eithermanually when the vehicle is at rest or may be engaged automaticallyunder forward drive run ning conditions when the speed is such that theweights 66 overcome the springs 65' and act through the spring I3 tomove the clutch element 8 to a position where it will engage with thecooperative jaw clutch member I.

The jaws of the members I and 8 are of the overrunning type withinclined faces as shown in detail in Fig. 3 so that these parts mayoverrun and not-engage until their speeds are synchro-' nized, thespring I3 permitting relative movement between the jaw member 8 and itsactuating weights 66.

Fig. 2 shows somewhat diagrammatically the gearing connections betweenthe shafts 38 and 34 and the driven shaft I2. The shaft 38 has a gear 32formed thereon or connected thereto, and the shaft 34 has a gear 35formed thereon or connected thereto. The gear 34 meshes with planetgears 59, and the gear 35 meshes with planet gears 58. compound planetgears mounted to revolve on planetary carrier I8 and also including theplanet gears 68 which mesh with a gear 48 on the driven shaft I2. Thenumerals applied to the planet gears and their intermeshing gears arethe same as those used in the aforementioned patent. With this gearingarrangement low speed is obtained when the gear 35 is the driver and theplanet carrier I8 is held against rotation by the automatic brakeincluding the rollers II9, the drive then being from gear 35 throughgears 58 and 68 to the gear 48 on the driven shaft I2. Second speed isobtained when the gear 32 is the driver and the planet gear isstationary, the drive then being from the gear 32 through the gears-59and 68 to the gear 48 on the driven shaft I2. Under second speedconditions the automatic clutch including the roller 63 permits theshaft 34 to overrun relative to the shaft 38. High speed or direct driveis obtained when the jaw clutch I I is engaged, as said jaw clutchconnects the planetary carrier I8 with the driven shaft I2, and undertheseconditions the brake including the brake rollers I I9 are releasedautomatically through a temporary reduction in speed of the driver partof the gearing relative to the driven shaft I2.

The general method of operation of the device is similar to that of thecopending case above re- The gears 58 and 59 form part of the ferred toand more particularly the modification shown in Fig. 5 except that inthe present case the connection of the jaws I and 8 directly connectsthe second speed transmission shaft 34 with the flywheel 4 and hence theengine shaft 2.

The operation in brief is as follows: With the vehicle at rest and theshifter member 94 in a neutral position, the operator starts the enginein the usual manner, but if the battery is run down, the member 94 maybe shifted as previously described so as to engage the second speedclutch l and 8 and then when the vehicle is pushed the connection of thedrive wheels with the gearing I8 will act therethrough to turn the shaft34 and through said clutch turn the engine shaft 2 to start the engine.Under the first and usual starting conditions after the engine has runfor a period sufficient to warm it up, it is throttled down to idlingspeed and the operator then shifts the member 94 to forward drive whereit stays under all ordinary conditions of driving. With the shaft 2turning above an idling speed the clutch connecting the transmissionwith the engine is engaged since under these conditions the weights (notshown) bring the clutch elements (not shown) into engagement with thedrum II (as in the patent heretofore referred to) which then in turningwith the actuator 6| picks up the clutch rollers 63 which then grip thedrum 65 fast to the low speed transmission shaft 38 and then as noted insaid patent the drive will proceed through the low speed gear ratio ofthe planetary gearing to the driven shaft. Thereafter, at apredetermined car speed the shaft 34, which is then being rotated by thegearing, reaches a speed which causes the weights 66 to move outwardlyand through collar I2 and spring 13 move clutch member 8 to anoverrunning association with its companion member I and then when, as by.a temporary reduction in speed of the drive shaft 2 as by temporarilythrottling the engine, these clutch parts are brought to a synchronizedspeed they move into mesh and then on accelerating the motor the torqueis picked up and the transmission is in second speed through the secondspeed gear ratio of the gearing I8.

The change to direct drive involves as in said patent and pendingapplication, the release of the automatic brake rollers II9 by atemporary deceleration of engine speed to release theplanetary carrierI8 and then the transmission is connected up for direct drive throughthe speed responsive clutch such as shown in detail in said patent andapplication.

Where it is desired under certain driving conditions to deliver the fulltorque of the engine through the low gear ratio the second speed clutchmay be shifted to the neutral position shown in Fig. 1 and the planetarycarrier I8 be held stationary by a suitable brake band such as the bandI4I of said patent.

Under the second mentioned starting conditions where the clutch membersI and 8 are initially engaged as soon as the engine starts and takes upits load the transmission will be driven directly in the second speedgear ratio.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited toany specific form or arrangement of parts except in so far as suchlimitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a change speed transmission mechanism, the combination of a driveshaft, a driven shaft, a planetary gear unit connecting said shaftsincluding a pair of transmission drive shafts, clutch mechanismconnecting one of said transmission drive shafts with said first nameddrive shaft, and speed responsive overrunning jaw clutch mechanism forestablishing the drive in either direction through the other of saidtransmission drive shafts on a temporary reduction in speed of the firstnamed drive shaft and connecting said last named shafts directlytogether.

2. In a change speed transmission mechanism, the combination of a driveshaft, a driven shaft,

1 a planetary gear unit connecting said shafts including a pair oftransmission drive shafts, clutch mechanism connecting one of saidtransmission drive shafts with said first named drive shaft, speedresponsive overrunning jaw clutch mechanism for establishing the drivethrough the other of said transmission drive shafts on attemporaryreduction in speed of the first named drive shaft and connecting saidlast named shafts directly together, and a manually operable means foralso controlling said jaw clutch mechanism and establishing the drivefrom said second transmission drive shaft to said first named driveshaft.

3. In a change speed transmission mechanism, the combination of a driveshaft, a driven shaft, a planetary gear unit connecting said shaftsincluding a pair of transmission drive shafts, automatic clutchmechanism connecting one of said transmission drive shafts with saidfirst named drive shaft, clutch mechanism for establishing a directdrive through the other of said transmission drive shafts and said firstnamed drive shaft, said last named clutch mechanism being operable atthe will of the operator to cut out .said automatic clutch mechanismduring starting.

OSCAR H. BANKER.

